Ice to Fire
by Sylla
Summary: Two Hunters, hired by the government to clear up the mess after the Mallet Island incident. In doing so, they happen to come across a very peculiar individual. But how is he connected to everything, and what does this Dante person have to do with it all?
1. Survival

_Before we begin, please bear in mind this is strictly experimental. I know the 'Vergil returns' plot has been used by pretty much everyone in the DMC fandom and _all_ of their respective grandmothers, but I still wanted to try it out. I also know that this story is lacking in many respects. The early chapters are now very old, and my writing has improved slightly since then. That said, if anyone has constructive criticism to offer, do so by all means._

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Devil May Cry, or any of the characters, plotlines, etc. thereof._

_Now, we can begin._

* * *

"_Hey..."_

"_Whoa..."_

"_...look at..."_

"_What..."_

"_...not a demon..."_

"_...human?"_

"_...armor..."_

"_...alive?"_

"_...alive. Help..."_

He heard voices. Soft voices, murmuring all around him. The small part of his mind that could still think- albeit in a foggy kind of way- through the blinding pain that engulfed every cell of his body, struggled to figure out who they could possibly belong to. They weren't... weren't at all like those _other_ voices- the only voices he had heard for so long. These were more like... that _other_ one's voice. But for the life of him- not that it was much of a life, granted- he couldn't figure out who, or what, those voices belonged to.

Then warm arms wrapped themselves around him. The small part of his mind that was still awake told him that this was almost like those other times, when _her_ arms would hold him and... but who was _she_? It was no use, he couldn't remember. Why? Because he had been told not to.

Then the arms hauled him upward, and the pain returned, this time flooding even that small corner of his mind. And he sunk into merciful blackness.

—

Aline gazed steadily at the stranger who now lay in one corner of the speedboat, covered by a blanket. They had found him, half buried by debris, in the last place she would have expected to find anyone alive- if only just barely. Idly she ran over the events in her mind.

"_Hey, Sher." she had addressed her friend. "Do you think we'll actually find anything good here?" she gestured at the island. Though perhaps 'island' was somewhat too generous a term. What had once been an island was now not much more than a pile of rubble surrounded by ocean_.

"_Yeah, maybe." he shrugged. "Anyway, you know the government wanted us to look into it- just in case."_

"_Of course I know that." was Aline's crisp answer. Then she looked at the island again. "But it seems that whoever was here first did a pretty good job. Did they say who it was?" she rested her chin on the side of the speedboat._

"_Nope." Sher lifted one shoulder in the universal 'no idea' gesture. "You know that drill- it was just 'go to this place, disarm anything you think is particularly dangerous, kill off any remaining demons, bring us back anything valuable.'"_

_She had snorted. As if there was going to be anything remotely valuable on this particular chunk of rock._

But they had found something, at least.

"_Woah, look at this." Sher called her over. She came, and Sher pointed to the object of his attention. Aline looked. Then whistled softly._

"_Woah." she unconsciously echoed her friend. "That's one heck of a seal. Level four, I think."_

Seals came in four levels. Level one seals were practically useless, only capable on keeping out the weakest of demons, and could be annulled or destroyed in a matter of seconds. Level twos were slightly stronger, and would deter most ordinary humans. Not either of them, though. But then of course, they wasn't ordinary humans. Find a level three seal, and there was probably something valuable- or dangerous- about. But a level four... those were rare. She had grinned. They could get one hell of a bonus for this. After that, not much else had happened. A couple of artefacts- most of them cursed, more than a few arcane symbols and designs, nothing particularly interesting, until...

"_H-hey!" she called Sher over with a look on her face that was surprised baffled, and slightly sick all at the same time. Sher came over, intrigued, to take a look at where she was pointing._

"_Woah..." he said for the umpteenth time that day._

"_Just look at him." Aline said, her voice slightly faint. But not without reason. The armor the man was wearing on all but his head was strange enough to attract notice, but that wasn't all. His face and neck were a mass of bruises. In his hand, clutched tightly was a katana in a battered-looking sheath. "My god..." she murmured under her breath, and immediately took it back. She was an atheist after all. Sher looked at her._

"_What... is he?" by which he meant, of course, _Is he a demon, and do we kill him? _She shook her head._

"_He's not a demon... at least, I don't think so."_

"_So then he's a human?"_

_Aline smiled slightly. Trust Sher to turn the obvious into a question._

"_Yeah." she said._

"_But... look at that armor..."_

"_Don't ask me, I have no idea." she ran one had over the smooth armor. Sher crossed his arms over his chest._

"_Is he even alive, y'think?" Ah. Now that was a good question. She quickly placed one hand to his neck. Sure enough, there was a faint pulse._

"_Yes, he's alive." She told Sher. "Help me with him._"

_He had looked none too happy at the unexpected interruption of their work. (Or, as he put it, 'scavenger hunt'.) Nonetheless, he complied. He took the man's legs while Aline wrapped her arms around his torso. As gently as possible- which wasn't all that gently, due to the rough configuration of the ground, they lifted him and, in short stages, carried him to the speedboat._

Aline looked toward the stranger again, locking her dark eyes on his face. Absently she rubbed her arms, still aching from carrying him. Not that she was weak, far from it, but he was incredibly heavy. Probably because of that armor... Dammit, was it her or was his breathing even more shallow? Far too shallow for comfort. She cursed to herself under her breath. Oh well, there was nothing for it. She rummaged through a duffel bag at her feet until she found what she was looking for. A smaller bag full of...

She pulled a blue orb out and walked over to the man, still cursing, if now only mentally. Blue orbs were hard to come by, especially for them, since they didn't do all that much demon-slaying and essence-collecting by themselves. Most of their blue orbs were acquired through the government, who had to get hem off hunters, who understandably didn't want to give them up so cheaply after all the hard work of getting them... the whole process could take ages. All for one miserable (but precious) blue orb. It had ben a stroke of luck that they had found a couple on the island. Ah well.

She kneeled and touched the orb to the man's neck, watching as it was immediately drained. Then she drew back and examined him critically. His breathing had deepened, and maybe a couple of bruises had disappeared. Not that the overall effect was all that impressive, to say the least. She sighed and took out another orb, which was also immediately drained. She stood up, then sighed- again- then walked over and flopped down onto the bench. Whoever this guy was, he had better be damn grateful when he woke up.

"Hey, Sher!" she called, not wanting to get up. "Did they say what the island was called, anyway?"

"Yeah." Sher's voice floated back to her from the helm. "I dunno what the folks 'round here call it, though they'd probably be better off calling it 'rubble' now- though the guy who assigned it to us said..."

"Just tell me the damn name already!"

"He said it was called Mallet. Mallet Island."


	2. Awakening

_Okay, something I forgot to mention, forgetful jerk that I am. I decided to write this after reading White Wings (written by Bustahead, go read it if you haven't-- _**now**_). It's a beautiful piece of writing, so it galvanised me into writing my own Vergil fic._

_In other news, Vergil (for yea, it was he) wakes up! But he's a little confused, unfortunately. I'll leave you to speculate on who the "they" and "he" are that he speaks of at the end of the chapter._

_**Disclaimer:** Wait a sec- let me check... nope. I still don't own Devil May Cry. Who'da thunk?_

_

* * *

_

_Warmth. That was the first thing he felt. A wonderful kind of warmth, that soothed, and comforted... and then a strange sort of lightness, as if some heavy burden had been removed from his shoulders. Part of him frowned, puzzled. There was something strange here, something... different. It was a moment before his mind, still half asleep, hit upon the answer._

_The pain. Or lack thereof. It didn't hurt so much anymore. He struggled to think of why this could possibly be- but he was still so tired and it was so warm and..._

_Something brushed lightly against him, causing him to lose the languorous feeling. The blackness that had engulfed him before, it was receding. He tried to hold onto it, he didn't want to go back, but it was no use. He slowly surfaced from the vast lake of his subconscious. Slowly, almost cautiously, he opened his eyes..._

—

Aline was there the moment he opened his eyes. Not on purpose- she was just there. She had come to check on him. After they had found him on Mallet Island, the had taken him to the dry land of the Spanish peninsula. Luckily they- she and her colleagues- owned a small coastal safe-house there. After all, the saying was right- better safe than sorry.

And it was safe, in this case. She and Sher had carried him up to the house and deposited him in one of the spare rooms. And after that... not much else. They hadn't wanted to take him to a hospital because of both the armor, and personal curiosity- though neither of them had admitted it. His condition had improved somewhat since they had found him, but he still hadn't woken up. It was very frustrating. She had caught Sher more than once muttering about how 'that darn idiot' wouldn't wake up. Personally, she felt the same. It was very ungrateful of him.

Aline had gone to check on him that morning, almost a week after they had found him. She didn't really know why, just that she felt like it. She hovered in the doorway of 'his' room for a moment before stepping in. His armor lay in a heap in one of the corners where they had neglected to store it away properly. She smiled wryly- taking that armor off had been hell. She still had the scrape marks to show for it. He had had protective clothing under it, but they had taken that off too- the top at least- in order to treat his wounds. She still remembered with a shudder how his back has been covered in cuts and bruises. She also remembered thinking that _no_ normal human could have survived those wounds.

She pulled up a chair by the bed he lay on. Once again, she resisted the urge to shake him. It was incredibly annoying- he just _wouldn't wake up_! She sighed and placed her chin in her hands.

_He's pretty cute..._ she thought idly. Then immediately shook herself and drove that thought firmly from her mind. She leaned over and brushed a few strands of silver hair away from him face. He stirred at her touch, and she drew back, acutely aware that the tips of her ears were pink. She really hoped Sher didn't walk in right now. But even if he had, her attention had already been wrenched away by something else.

His eyes were opening.

His eyelids fluttered slightly, then slowly rose to reveal eyes that were stunningly blue. For a moment they stared at the ceiling above him. Then, they swivelled down and came to rest on... her.

—

He opened his eyes to a totally unfamiliar place. The air around him was warm and, for the first time in so many years, relatively free of the demonic miasma he had been forced to breathe for so long. He moved his gaze to take in the rest of- wherever it was that he was. Then he noticed- another someone, not two feet away from him.

Startled, he sat up violently- then immediately regretted it. He clenched his jaw to combat the wave of nausea that threatened to overcome him.

"Hey, careful there." a voice told him. Female... it was a female voice. He turned his head to look at the other someone, noting with more than a little surprise the look of concern on her face. Concern? She couldn't possibly be concerned about him.

"Are you all right?" she inquired. Was she talking to him? He stared at her unresponsively through strands of silver hair.

—

Ok, he was awake now, but he wasn't responding. What the hell was _wrong_ with him? She sighed slightly, then lifted a hand, moving it toward his shoulder. To her surprise, he drew back defensively, teeth bared slightly. Accordingly, she let her hand drop- quickly.

"It's all right," she told him gently. "Not like I'll hurt you or anything." she smiled to demonstrate her good intentions. _Hell, it's like talking to a little kid,_ her sarcastic side drawled. _Maybe he has a concussion or something,_ she realized. She would have to check. But later.

She raised her hand again, a little slower that before. Gently, she placed it on his shoulder. This time, he didn't flinch. Well, that was something.

"What's your name?" Still no answer. She sighed and let her hand slide off his shoulder. So much for that.

"I don't... have a name."

His sudden answer made Aline start slightly. She blinked.

"What, you mean... you don't remember?"

He shook his head slightly.

"No... I don't have a name."

"Well... gotta call you something." she huffed slightly, then shook a stray lock of brown hair out of her eyes. The man looked away slightly, and his eyes became slightly distant. He frowned slightly as though trying to grasp an elusive memory that hovered just out of reach.

"Before... they..." he shook his head and started again. "They- he- called me... Nelo."


	3. Do You Remember?

Aline stood out on the balcony, gazing out to sea. The sun sparked on the water, a dazzling display of light. The sea had always fascinated her. It was beautiful, and she loved it. But at the same time, she feared it. Not that anyone would ever know. That would give her reputation hell. _Aline the ruthless government hunter, scared of the sea._ She would never hear the end of it. Nope, best that nobody knew.

"Hey." Sher joined her, leaning on the railing of the balcony. "How is he?" he asked. She didn't need to ask to know he was talking about Nelo.

"Awake, if that's what you mean. At least, he was a while ago. I think he's resting now."

Sher nodded. "Whatever happened to him back on that island, probably took a lot outta him."

"You think?" her voice was laden with sarcasm.

"I do think." Sher's answer was equally sarcastic.

They chuckled together, as if on cue. It was nice to have someone with your same wry sense of humor working with you. It made the job less... serious, at least. She sighed, a sigh that was a mixture of contentment and exhaustion. She hadn't slept since the job yesterday- too busy taking care of what she liked to call her 'paperwork'. In reality, it was spending hours on the phone trying to convince her 'boss' to get her more blue orbs. Though he wasn't really her boss. Just the guy she pestered for more orbs.

"So," she began. "any luck identifying the artefacts we found?" her tone was all professional now.

"Yeah, some." Sher answered smugly. She could tell he was glad she had asked- he enjoyed anything mechanical, and anything to do with demonic artefacts. And his ego enjoyed other people taking an interest.

"Most of them are just petty little curses, y'know." he told her. "Like, a curse to cause a cold, et cetera. But some of them are really powerful- like one that causes the wearer to be subject to natural disasters."

Aline whistled lowly. Now that was definitely dangerous. Good thing they had gotten there first, instead of some mindless tourist with a hankering for antiques.

"Anything of use to us?" It was important to know.

"Yup." Sher grinned broadly, pride practically oozing from his smile. "We managed to hook us a charm against the cold, and another for protection- _really_ powerful."

"Great."

"But Aline, one thing." he looked puzzled. "The guy we found- I tried to identify his sword, see if it was some sort of artefact- 'cause it's not every day ya see a sword like that, and I was kinda bored-"

"Get to the point already." she sighed.

"Well- it's a demonic artefact of some sort, but... I have _no_ idea what kind. It's like the thing doesn't _want_ me to identify it."

"Weird." she noted.

"Weird doesn't begin to describe it." Sher huffed. Aline smirked slightly, careful to hide it from Sher. That must have ben quite frustrating for him.

"Hey, Aline. You remember how we met?" _...And now for something completely different._

"...yeah." she shrugged. "Not like it's something I'd forget all that quickly." she stared out to sea again. The sun was setting, almost seeming to touch the water...

—

_The young brunette swiped a sweater up from its usual place on the back of a chair. Hastily unhooking a set of keys from a peg on the wall, she turned and addressed her mother._

"_Me voy a pasear, vale, mama? Volveré más tarde."_

"_Cuidate, eh? Que hay bandas de niños muy malos por las noches. Y vuelve pronto." Be careful, don't be out too late, et cetera. How many times had she heard _that_ before?_

_The girl rolled her eyes. "Si, mama." she sighed._

_She exited her house, shutting the door perhaps a little harder than she should have. More and more lately she had found herself preferring to be outside, alone... she found the atmosphere at home oppressive, almost. A lot of people would say this was only natural for a girl of her tender age, fifteen. Natural for them to seek adventure. Bullshit. At least in her case. She wandered around more and more lately because of the uneasy feeling that she was missing something, that something was not quite right. Like, some small detail of life and the world that she had somehow let slip by unnoticed. It bugged her._

_She was walking down a relatively (or completely) deserted street now. The wind tugged playfully at the hem and sleeves of her coat, and at her hair, pulling stray locks away from behind her ears. Absently, she put the hair back in its place._

_Then she stopped._

_The feeling of something not being quite right had intensified to the point it was almost palpable The air was so thick with the not quite right feeling, it was almost like a mist. Or a fog, even._

"_Joder!" she swore to herself, stamping her foot on the ground and knowing how childish it looked. She took a deep breath, because for some reason she was completely unnerved._

_And then it had happened. The something that put everything back into place for her. Now, some people- most people- would have thought that would be the perfect guy walking into her life, and it would be love at first sight, and... not a chance. Instead, what she got was a low growl from somewhere above her. She jerked her head upward and saw..._

_Well, she wasn't quite sure _what_ it was she saw. For the simple reason that she had never seen anything like it in her life. It was a sort of... _monster_... a skeletal form, half concealed by a ragged cloak. It was standing on the roof of the building, almost directly above her, a cruel-looking scythe in its hands- if the bony appendages could be called hands. Its eyes glowed a malevolent red... and were fixed on her._

_Unable to do anything due to the fear that had wrapped its iron fist around her so suddenly, she merely stared up at the creature, praying to anything, anything at all, that it wasn't looking at her. But whatever small hope she had of that crumbled like so much dust, as the creature sprang off the roof, landing directly in front of her. She uttered a small squeak of fright now, and tried to turn to run away, but somehow her legs didn't want to obey, and she fell heavily onto the ground._

_Shit! It was walking towards her, placing one gnarled foot slowly, deliberately, in front of the other._

_Oh, no._

_It was going to kill her, she realized. It was going to kill her, her life was going to end with its scythe in her chest, she was going to die and there was nothing she could do..._

_A shot rang out, rolling off the walls of the buildings and echoing back and forth between the houses._

"_Heeeey!"_

_The creature, prey momentarily forgotten, turned its head away to look at this new and unwanted distraction. It came in the form of a man with brown hair, wearing jeans, boots, a leather coat and, most noticeably, several belts carrying things that looked suspiciously like ammo and grenades, standing at the opposite end of the street. In his hand he carried a gun._

_To her surprise, the creature-who at that point was practically standing over her- began to turn around, dragging its feet in the man's direction. And what the heck-? The man was waving. With one arm he was gesturing violently sideways and down. He was telling her do get down, to get away, she realized._

_Well, that was encouraging._

_She hurriedly ducked behind the nearest thing she could find- a tree. Okay, so not the most effective of shields, but it would have to do for the moment. And not a moment too soon. As the man strode towards the creature, there was another loud bang, and a howl of rage from the monster. Moving faster than she would have thought possible, it dashed over to the man. He fired a couple more shots, then- in the nick of time- ducked to avoid being sliced neatly in two by the thing's scythe. However, he moved too slowly to completely dodge the next swipe. The pole of the scythe caught him on the elbow, causing the gun to spin out of his grasp. He didn't have time to reach for anything else. The monster lifted his scythe for the blow that would surely be the finishing one, and..._

Bang.

_For a moment nothing moved. Then, with something like a sigh, the strange creature dissolved into a small heap of sand._

_The girl lay sprawled on the floor for the second time in as many minutes, eyes shut tightly, knocked back by the recoil from the gun that was still clutched in her hands. She opened her eyes slowly to find the man standing above her, hand extended. Ignoring the had, che righted herself on her own._

"_Qué demonios era eso?" she demanded, gesturing wildly._

"_Em- sorry- I don't understand Spanish." the man responded in as mild a tone as he could- which is generally a good idea when someone happens to be waving your gun erratically around._

"_I said 'what the hell was that?'." she switched immediately to a clipped English with no trace of an accent._

_So, you speak English. Good." he looked pleased. "Now, will you please give me back my gun?"_

"_Not before you tell me what that was."_

_He sighed, turning his eyes heavenwards._

"_A demon obviously." his tone was nonchalant._

"_You're kidding." Well, at least a step up from the usual 'A _what_?' he got from most people, he thought privately._

"_No joke, girl." he held out his hand expectantly. Instead, she asked another question._

"_So that would make you a...?"_

"_Hunter, of course. Now, can I _please_ have my gun back?" he fought to keep the irritation from his voice. The girl tilted her head to one side._

"_Just one more question."_

"_Fine, shoot." he said, exasperated._

"_How do I join?"_

—

Aline chuckled.

"I also remember you laughed at me when I asked to join... until I pointed out I had just killed my first demon anyway."

"Yeah, still..." Sher waved that away. "I remember you laughed at my name."

"Well, what was I supposed to do? Not like it's the least _effeminate_ of names out there."

"And that's suddenly _my_ fault?" he protested.

"Aww, is poor Sher upset about his name?" she mocked, punching him lightly on the arm. He took a swipe back at her, which she evaded with ease.

"Yeah... I'm so upset about my name I think I'll go cry in a corner... and shoot anyone who comments on it." Aline knew he wasn't kidding. It had happened more than once- the shooting, anyway. Not the crying in a corner.

She stretched, perhaps a little ostentatiously.

"Well, I'm wiped out. See you in the morning, or whatever."

"Yeah." Sher nodded. "Oh, by the by. The sword also had some demonic inscription on it. Ya might wanna ask the guy-"

"Nelo."

"Yeah, him- anyways, ya might wanna ask him if he knows what it says, I don't know enough to translate."

"Looks like our guest is getting more interesting by the minute, huh?"

"What, ya like him?"

"No!" she laughed and punched him on the arm again- harder this time.

"Ow, hey! I was just asking!" he grinned broadly.

"Tough. And keep your speculations to yourself." and with that, she marched back indoors, trailing amused indignation with every step.


	4. Moonlight

Ok, so, not much happening here. Sooorrryyy! But this sets the scene for the next chapter, in which stuff will happen. So, it's kinda necessary.

Disclaimer: Still don't own DMC.

-----------------------------------------------

A pearly moon shone in the velvety black midnight sky. It leeched the color out of everything below, transforming the countryside into a landscape of infinite gray shades. The air was warm, still to the point of stifling.

_A dark place..._

Aline shifted uneasily in her sleep.

_Distorted..._

_Lies..._

Her hands, slick with sweat, clenched slightly.

_Red... blood..._

_Tired..._

_Dark..._

Her mouth formed a small frown.

_Can't breathe..._

_Can't move..._

_Help..._

_Falling..._

_Dark._

Suddenly, her eyes flew open. She rolled off the bed, dropping lightly onto the floor, crouched in a fighting stance. A brief moment passed, then she blinked. Somewhat sheepishly, she stood straight.

_Well..._

It had been quite some time since a nightmare had made her wake up in quite that way. With a quiet chuckle she sat on the bed and lay her head against the wall. Hunter's instinct had saved her life more than once... but it could be damn annoying, too. She knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Nightmares were just nightmares, but the adrenaline rush wasn't so easy to put down. Ah well. Noting how her mouth felt strangely dry, she rose to her feet and padded silently to the kitchen. She poured herself a glass of water, which she gulped down quickly. Another. Damn, the pitcher was empty. Where were those eight liter bottles of water when you needed 'em?

As quietly as she could, she walked out into the living room. Maybe in the closet... nope. She was about to go give up and go back to bed when she noticed a figure out on the balcony.

_Huh?_

She stepped out on to the balcony.

"Hey." she said quietly. Platinum hair shimmered in the moonlight as Nelo turned around. He nodded in acknowledgment, then went back to staring out to see.

"Nice view, huh?" she leaned on the rail beside him. A couple seconds passed then he nodded. He still seemed... _afraid_- for lack of a better word- to speak. She glanced sideways at him. He was still wearing nothing but the leather pants he had been wearing when they found him, and the moonlight shone off his bare back and well-muscled arms.

Aline suddenly felt very self-conscious in the lavender top and grey sweat pants that passed for her pajamas. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"So... do you remember how you got onto that island?" she inquired.

A shake of the head. "No. But..."

"But what?"

—

How could he explain? The subtle, yet certain, feeling that he had done something, something terrible. It haunted him, wouldn't let him sleep. But he didn't remember what it was that he had done. It was like a thin veil stood between him and those memories. He knew they were there, but he couldn't reach them. All he could remember was... them. Cruel, heartless, they had degraded him, called him worthless. Hurt him...

He looked at the slim, lithe figure beside him, so delicate by comparison. She... hadn't hurt him. But would that change if he told her he had done something terrible? He shook his head.

"Nothing... it's nothing."

She smiled, a peculiar smile somewhere between a grin and a smirk.

"All right, if you say so." ...she trusted him?

—

There was something he wasn't saying, that much was obvious. Oh well. When he wanted to spill the metaphorical beans, he would. But that didn't lessen her curiosity one iota.

The both turned at a sound from inside. She could practically feel Nelo tense beside her, like a cat ready to pounce.

"What, is it party night and nobody told me? Looks like no-one's asleep here." Sher's voice emerged from inside a moment before he did. Aline relaxed, though Nelo didn't.

"Apparently not." she answered.

"Hey, lovebirds." Sher grinned and leaned against the wall.

"Sher, say that again and I will reach down your throat and pull out your lungs." she warned ominously.

Sher snorted softly.

"Yeah, I'm sure." he drawled sarcastically. "Do you even know how?" Aline chose to ignore the comment, instead introducing them.

"Nelo, this is Sher. He's the only weapon's specialist I know that can take any gun apart and put it back together in less than a minute or two- so I have to keep him, annoying as he is."

"Hey!" He protested, still grinning.

"Anyway, why are you up?" Aline asked.

"I just got a call from the agency."

She groaned. The agency went by a lot of names in a multitude of different languages, including the joke name "CDC"- "Center for Demon Control". Their purpose- to warn of any demonic activity in any country so the government could send in Hunters before everything got out of control. Because everyone familiar with demons knew that they didn't respect borders. Demonic activity in any country was a problem for everyone.

Though it was originally a special unknown branch of the U.S. government with at least one agent in every embassy, the idea had caught on pretty damn quick. Now the Agency was a completely separate organization under the jurisdiction of no government.

"What did they want?"

Sher ran one hand through his shaggy brown hair.

"Apparently, a group of archaeologists went missing a couple days ago while studying some underwater ruin or other. Since we're the closest Hunters they could find, they want us to look into it."

"Well, that's great- except for the fact that I'm a demonologist, not a Hunter."

"Well ain't that a shame." Sher was clearly unsympathetic. Aline sighed.

"Whatever. Let's just go and get this over with." she started to turn, then stopped. She grinned.

"Hey, Nelo... wanna come with? We could use a little help."

Not waiting for an answer, she grabbed Nelo by the wrist and dragged him inside.


	5. Dark Water

_I am so, so, _incredibly_ sorry that this chapter's taken so long to come- I've been absolutely horrible about updating lately. All I can say is that GCSEs are looming, and that some teachers seem to forget that we _do_ have other subjects when they give use homework. And on top of that, I've been somewhat lacking in inspiration... good thing I've had this particular event planned for a long time. So, I'll try to update more often (for those of you that are still reading), but I really can't promise anything (as usual). Sorry!_ --"

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Devil May Cry, or any of the characters- only my OCs and this story; they're mine, yessss, my precioussss...

* * *

The speedboat hurtled through the water, forming a trail of white foam in its wake. On the horizon, the sun was just beginning to rise, throwing bands of orange and pink across the sky. While Sher stood at his usual position steering the boat, Aline conversed with Nelo in the back. They both wore grey 'semi-dry' diving suits. 

"Okay, so what we do is pretty routine," she was saying. "We enter, search for whatever's causing the demonic activity and, if we need to, destroy it."

Nelo nodded. He had beet pretty... cautious, for lack of a better word, about going out of the house at first. Almost as if he was afraid something was going to swoop down and attack him. But he had been able to master his irrational fear- if it was irrational, which Aline was beginning to suspect might not have been the case, at least for him- and accompany them on the trip.

"You remember what demonic seals look like, right?"

Again, another nod.

"By the way, did you really have to bring that sword along with you?" She gestured toward the slim katana, which he carried at his side.

"Yes." _Well, at least he spoke this time._ "It's... very important."

"Okay," she sighed. Then her face brightened and she grinned. "Sher's a still a little dubious about bringing you along, though, so try not to get yourself killed," she joked. After all, it was probably nothing. Just a false alarm. People were taken by the sea every day, right?

_A whole group of marine archaeologists?_ a voice in her mind said quietly.

"Hey you two! C'mere!" Sher turned and addressed them.

"What?" Aline asked, coming up beside him. He pointed to a spot several meters away.

"Right over there." Then he turned. He crouched down and, from a long case at his feet, extracted-

"A _sniper rifle_?" Aline said incredulously. "You want to send me down with _that_?"

"Modified M14," Sher explained. "0.5 MOA accuracy. Increased penetration and range, and it's lighter. And the bullets are blessed. And, before you ask, yes it will work under water." He handed Aline one rifle, and another to Nelo, who took it dubiously.

"Whatever you say," she shook her head. Nonetheless, she took the holster he handed to her. Stooping down, she grabbed two diving regulators from a corner, putting on hers with ease and helping Nelo's with his.

"We'll be in constant radio communication." Sher said. "If anything goes wrong, I'll be the first to know." He frowned. "Well, second," he amended.

Unable to speak, Aline merely flashed a thumbs-up. Then both she and Nelo submerged themselves into the Mediterranean sea.

—

The water was always cold this deep down. Light from the surface barely reached those dim depths. On her own, Aline might have been nervous. Down here, who knew what could suddenly appear... She shuddered. But Nelo's presence beside her was comforting. At least it meant she wasn't alone.

"There," he said softly, pointing ahead. Sure enough, the blurred outline of the underwater ruins could be seen.

"All right," Sher's voice crackled in her ear. "This could be a false alarm, but both of you be careful anyway. Once you're inside- if there's anything left to be inside of- tell me, okay. You know what to do, but do it quick. The less you stay down there, the better." _Well duh._ Aline rolled her eyes.

"Gotcha," she responded. Cautiously they approached the ruin, now not much more than a series of disconnected walls and pillars, covered in all sorts of seaweed and molluscs. As they passed through a ruined archway, she spoke again.

"Okay, we're in. I don't see anything at the moment."

But that was the worrying thing. As far as Aline could see, there was not a living creature in the immediate vicinity apart from her and Nelo. The ruins should have been teeming with schools of fish, yet it was eerily bare. Aline's skin prickled. This didn't feel right.

Quickly and efficiently, she and Nelo searched the ruins. But they found no bodies- a fact that made Aline both thankful and apprehensive at the same time. She ran one hand over a stone. _Maybe they just went somewhere and forgot to tell any- wait._

There, partially buried in the sand, was... _Oh no._

"Nelo!" she called, and immediately he came. She pointed to her discovery. With one hand, he hoisted it up out of the sand. He looked at her gravely through his face mask. It was even worse than she had thought. _Shit._

It was a diving regulator. Or, more specifically, the remains of one. _Something_ had perforated it, leaving a huge gash. But that wasn't all. Here and there, plainly visible, were...

_Bite marks?_ Aline thought. This was bad. The bite marks alone could be explained away as being from a shark, but the gash... no animal could have done that.

"Sher..." she said. "I think we've-"

At that precise moment, Nelo gave a warning cry. A split second later, a veritable shockwave of water collided into her.

—

"Aline!" Sher called into the radio. "Dammit, Aline, answer me! Nelo!" he pounded the dashboard in frustration. Why weren't they answering? He checked the controls quickly- fine. But, apart from that last statement- mysteriously cut short- there was nothing from either of them.

His knuckles went white as his fists curled into balls. He could only imagine what was going on down there. And he knew he was powerless to help. A sick feeling settled in his stomach.

—

Disorientation. Aline no longer knew which way was up, or down. It was so dark and dim; her vision was blurred, she could hardly see. She tried shaking her head. As her vision settled, she was able to discern... tentacles.

_A kraken?_

A demon.

She fumbled with the holster at her shoulder, pulling out the sniper rifle. Though, it wasn't like the telescopic aim was even remotely necessary. The thing was _huge_. She shot at the demon and was rewarded by a shriek as the bullet penetrated its rubbery dark brown skin- though whether it was of pain or rage was anyone's guess. A tentacle shot out towards her, which she narrowly avoided. Where the hell was Nelo? An arm pulling at her answered her question. He pulled away from the demon, righting her as he did so.

Dimly she could hear Sher's voice buzzing in her ear. _Now is not the time, Sher,_ she thought . She fired off another shot at the creature, and it shrieked again. Another tentacle lashed out. As she and Nelo separated to escape the lightning-quick blow, she felt a sharp, stinging pain in her leg. Looking down, she saw a gash in her shin, a thin line of crimson blood blossoming and dissolving into the water.

_The bloody thing has spikes on its tentacles!_ But as pain began to claw its way up her leg, she realized something far, far worse.

The spikes were poisoned.

Already she could feel a numbness in her extremities. Her arms felt leaden, and her breath started to come in short gasps. _Nelo..._ she thought dimly. _I need help..._ she didn't want to die at the bottom of the sea! Groggily she looked around. _There..._ it was Nelo, and... he had his katana unsheathed. Was he intending to attack the demon with that? _No, you idiot! Use your gun!_ She tried to speak but found she couldn't. She could only look on, and even that looked like it wouldn't last. Tunnel vision was already setting in.

But something strange was happening. Nelo was fighting the demon with his sword, and... the demon was _retreating_. Was he actually besting the demon? _That... that's... im- impossible..._ her thoughts were starting to slip away from her. The pain had started clutching at her torso. She knew she wouldn't last much longer.

"Ne- Nelo!" she managed to choke out.

The demon was retreating. As her vision started to fade, she dimly saw Nelo swimming over to her.

—

She was fading. Nelo could see her life start to slip away before his very eyes. And he knew that unless something was done, _fast_, she would die. Locking his arms around her slim waist, he started to drag her limp form to the surface. _Breathe deep. Kick with your legs. Faster. She's dying! _Dammit, he wasn't going fast enough! As he strained to lift her faster, he could feel something inside himself, straining to get loose, to emerge. _To take over..._

For a split second, the hands gripping her became claws.

Then they surfaced, and the... _thing_ straining inside him settled. With powerful stokes Nelo swam to the speedboat, handing the comatose Aline over to Sher's firm grasp. Hauling himself over the side of the boat and ripping off his face mask, he gasped-

"Demon... poison."

This was all the information Sher needed. Laying Aline gently down, he strode over to a cabinet and pulled out a small metal case. This he opened, drawing out a small syringe filled with a clear liquid. That seemed to be glowing.

"Hold her down." he instructed. Nelo placed both hands on her shoulders and his knee on her legs. Then Sher jammed the syringe into her thigh.

For a second nothing happened. And another. Then, Aline gasped. And she screamed, a cry of pure agony. Her back arched upwards and her head tilted back, her hands curled into fists, and she clenched her jaw, fighting not to scream again- a battle already lost. She screamed again, and again. Her breath came in racking sobs. Her arm lashed out hitting the deck, and she arched her back again, straining against Nelo's restraining grip.

Suddenly she collapsed. For a moment Nelo feared she wasn't breathing- but then she drew a shuddering breath, and her eyes opened. She stared up at him for a moment, then her face broke into a weak smile.

"Ow... what the heck... was that? I feel like a train wreck," she groaned.

"Welcome back. You don't look much better, either." Sher couldn't hide the relief in his voice.

"You didn't... have to... revive me, did you?" She sat up with another groan, and a fair bit of help from Nelo.

"Nope. Nelo got you back up here in time for me to use this." He held up the syringe for Aline to see. She peered at the remains of the liquid.

"Isn't that... Holy water?" She blinked groggily.

"Yup." Sher nodded. Aline turned her head to Nelo.

"Thanks, then." she whispered- then she frowned.

"Erm, Sher..." her voice sounded slightly odd. Slightly... strained?

"Yeah, what?" Attentive, concerned; Aline had his undivided attention. Almost like devotion.

"Uh..." she looked dubious. Then she seemed to make up her mind about something. "Nothing." she shook her head. "Let's just get back to the house. You'll need to... call the Agency, that was a... a big sucker down there." She had her eyes fixed on Nelo's face, although searching for something. He was looking out at the sea with a distant look in his eyes. Occasionally a strange expression would cross his face, though what he could be thinking she had no idea. She didn't want to guess either.

As though had felt her eyes on him, he turned his head slightly to look at him. A shiver lightly ran its way up her spine as his ice blue eyes met her own dark ones. She tried to say something but couldn't- and this time it wasn't because of any poison. Thankfully, he looked away, and Aline was spared having to rack her brains for something to say.

She always had hated small talk.

—

By the time the speedboat had pulled into the small cove next to the house at around midmorning, Aline was sufficiently recuperated to walk. And so walk she did. In fact, she took off at a rapid pace toward the stone building, much to the surprise of Nelo and (private amusement of) Sher.

Shaking his head and smiling, Sher grabbed an armload of equipment. Nelo did the same, albeit without the head-shake and smile. Whether it was for some particular reason or merely because he was by nature more serious than Sher was debatable.

Either way, upon entering the house they found various things; miscellaneous diving equipment carelessly shed in several convenient locations around the house, an open first aid kit (minus bandages), and a locked bedroom door.

"Aline?" Sher knocked on the door. "You all right in there?"

"Yeah." Aline's voice came through the door, muffled- but unusually curt. "Don't come in right now," she instructed. Sher heaved a sigh.

"Whatever." He shook his head again.

"Dunno what's gotten into her all of a sudden," he told Nelo. "She's not usually like this after a mission."

Nelo said nothing, but merely turned away. If Aline wanted to be left alone, he would leave her alone. Besides, there was more than one thing he wanted to think about, himself.

—

The small, tiled balcony was rapidly becoming the most frequented place in the entire house. At that particular moment in time, Nelo stood facing the sea, hands resting lightly on the rail. Though, to all intents and purposes, he was contemplating the sea, the look in his eyes was distant. In his mind he saw, over and over again, the fight between Aline and he, and the demon. He remembered the whooshing sound of water rushing by, seeing Aline get hit by one of the whip-like tentacles. Though Aline had been using her gun up till that point, and he had known that he probably should too, the sudden inexplicable urge to draw his katana had been so strong... overwhelming.

So he had followed his instinct, and unsheathed it. For some reason, the water hardly inhibited his movements, slashing in all directions so he cut off the monster's tentacles, weaving, parrying, searching for an opening until finally one presented it to himself and he landed a hit on the demon's fleshy body. In those moments, he had felt so... at ease. Comfortable, in the middle of the battle. It had felt like... like something had stirred deep within him.

Suddenly, he was dragged out of his reverie by an ominous-sounding click. Slightly startled, he turned around. What he saw left him momentarily speechless.

It was Aline. Pointing directly at him with a gun.


	6. Of Revelations

_Argh, short chapter. I _loathe_ short chapters with every fibre of my being- but I hope it's interesting nonetheless. And I'm incredibly sorry about the long waits here, but a lot's going on. I can practically _feel _my grades sliding. Okay, so maybe that's a slight overstatement._

_I absolutely hate long waits. Yet I somehow always justify them for myself... ha, double standard. Sorry._

**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I actually own DMC now. Kidding.

* * *

The sun glared down with blinding rays which glittered on the deep blue ocean. He was standing with his back to the sun's rays, and from where Aline stood he almost seemed to be surrounded by a soft aura of light. 

_Cruel irony..._ Aline thought. She kept her dark grey semi-automatic pistol trained on a spot comfortably between his eyes.

_Blue eyes._ They were so clear, like twin chips of ice...

He wasn't saying anything. Most people reacted with fear or bravado, when faced with the receiving end of a gun. Some would have a cold, calculating look in their eyes. But he just... stood there. If anything, he looked slightly confused. And underlaying that... was that a shadow of betrayal?

_I'm the one that should be feeling betrayed..._ her grip on the gun tightened.

He didn't react. He was just standing there, like... like a child, waiting to receive a punishment.

Aline's jaw clenched. How dare he look so... so innocent! He had had her trust, and...

"So," she spat from between her clenched teeth, in a false tone of lightheartedness. "Mind telling me who you really are? Or _what_ you are, for that matter?"

His eyebrows, the same pristine color as his hair, knitted together for an instant.

"What?"

Aline almost did a double-take. But on the outside she remained calm. Even though she was seething inside.

"Don't play dumb with me," she growled. Then, slowly, she reached into the pocket of her jacket and, still with her gun trained on Nelo, pulled out a small object, which she tossed at him.

Catching it easily in his hands he lowered his gaze to examine it. He recognized it easily- it was the rubbery sleeve of a grey diving suit. His grey diving suit.

And an irregular gash ran almost halfway round the side.

"You..." He looked up as Aline began to speak again. She was tense, almost shaking. A cold- no, a frigid anger was reflected in her voice.

"You had my trust."

To her surprise, all he did was bow his head.

"I'm... sorry."

He said this almost like a question. Like a child attempting to placate a wrathful adult. He wasn't trying to run, he wasn't trying to attack her- at least not yet. She still had her finger firmly on the trigger. But all he did was stand there.

She didn't quite know how to react. _I'm sorry?_ Part of her felt a flicker of a doubt. But it was quickly swept away. She covered it with a derisive laugh.

"_Sorry_... right." Her voice was a sarcastic as she could make it.

_Remember Aline, they trick you, then they kill you._

"You got-" her voice sounded shaky for some reason. She shook her head and started again, making her voice stronger.

"You got hit by that demon, too." It wasn't a question. "But somehow, you're still alive." Her voice gained strength as she continued. "So I'm curious-" she tilted her head to one side. "What's your secret?"

The tension permeating the air was almost palpable in the silence that followed; if tension were flammable, the merest spark would have caused one heck of an explosion right about then.

Nelo, meanwhile, remained motionless, like a marble statue. His gaze was firmly fixed on an interesting something on the floor.

"Go on- I said I'm curious." Aline's voice was like a honey-coated razor blade.

"...I don't know."

"Eh?"

The sound of surprise cam out before Aline could catch herself. Mentally she kicked herself. '_Eh'? What the heck was _that

"I don't know," Nelo said again. Then, he slowly brought his hands up to his pale head.

"I... can't remember." He raised his head to gaze at Aline with those ice blue eyes.

"The memories... they're there, but I still can't... You must believe me-" there was a slight note of... what? Urgency? Desperation? Something- in his voice. "I would never hurt you."

Aline stood still a moment as the full meaning of those words sunk in.

_Never. Never hurt me._ She sighed.

"Maybe..." she paused. "Maybe I believe you."

Then, she calmly pulled the trigger.


	7. An Answer Of Sorts

**Important notice! READ IT!** _Okay, so the last few chapters have been r e a l l y spaced out, so I just wanted to say a couple things. First, that I usually work slowly. Can't much change that, I'm afraid, but I won't compromise the quality of my work (such as it is) in order to spew something out fast. Second, the inexorable approach of GSCEs (whoever invented those should have been hung, drawn and quartered whenever they first suggested the idea) means I'll be spending less time updating in order to study more. Sorry, but not much I can do about that either. cries Third (and most importantly) I WILL NOT be giving up on this fic. I have things planned! So I will finish it, one way or another (is there any alternate way, really?)- it's just a matter of me finding the time and inspration. Y'all know about writer's block, yes? No, sorry to say I'm no more immune than anyone else. sigh_

_Thanks for reading if you did! If not, well, just read the damn fic already. XDD_

**Disclaimer:** I own a token of the type ( --elitist reference). Not DMC.

_So, without (much) more ado, here it is, the next chapter! There's a couple of cameos here- brownie points to the first to figure 'em all out. They're not too hard, if you've played the right games. XD_

* * *

Even with a silencer, the shot was still inordinately loud to Aline's ears. Fired at point-blank range, there was no way it could miss. And so, it didn't. An instant before firing, Aline lowered the gun slightly, and so instead of entering Nelo's head, the bullet embedded itself in his chest, somewhere between the third and fourth ribs, Aline guessed. This newly acquired momentum slammed him into the (fortunately rather high) balcony railing, and he slid to the ground, leaving a smear of crimson on the low wall. Aline calmly holstered her gun then leant against the cool stone wall of the house. 

"Congratulations, you passed." she said wryly after a minute. For a moment there was no answer, then-

"Beg pardon?" Nelo said without opening his eyes.

"I said you passed. You can get up now, I won't shoot you again. At least not on purpose."

Any normal person might have screamed in terror as Nelo slowly stood up. Apart from a splash of blood on his chest, no sign of the damage the bullet would have caused to a normal human could be seen- no entry wound, _nada_.

"You knew... I wouldn't die." It wasn't a question. Aline gave a wry chuckle.

"Of course I knew. After I saw you survive that demon's poison, how could I think something like a bullet would stop you? Even a blessed one."

"Then... why?"

"For several reasons." Aline paused to collect her thoughts.

"Firstly, I wanted to see if you would attack me if I confronted you. But you didn't." she paused, but Nelo said nothing.

"And, that blessed bullet I fired- the popular belief is that it hurts demons- but that's not really it. It only works on... entities with evil intent, to put it one way. And third... I know from experience- lots of experience- that the first thing demons usually do when you attack them is attack right back. But you didn't. The only reason you wouldn't is if you really, _really_ didn't want to." she finished. _Saying it, it sounds like a lame excuse- 'I wasn't _trying_ to kill you, honest...'_

"So... a test of fire, as it were."

Aline nodded but said nothing. For a moment both of them were silent. Then Aline turned around, opening the sliding glass door.

"Come on." she beckoned.

"Where?"

"I'm gonna find out who took care of the Mallet job. Maybe they'll know something. Sound good?"

Nelo nodded and followed her inside.

—

Two minutes and a short flight of metal stairs later, Aline and Nelo were sat in front of a computer, with an ever so slightly irritated Sher standing off to one side.

"I still don't see why you had to kick me off. What do you have to do that's so urgent?"

"For the last time, I'm going to access the database to see if I can find the name of the person who took care of Mallet. And hopefully an address. Here we are... What?" Aline did a double take.

"What is it?" Sher drew closer intrigued. His reaction mimicked Aline's when he read the words on the screen.

**Access Denied.**

"Strange. That's never happened before." Sher frowned "Are you sure you typed in the right access code?"

"Am I sure?" Aline lifted an eyebrow. "I've only typed it in about a million times, Sher. There's no way I'd get it wrong."

"Hmm." Sher frowned again. "Strange... what's with all the secrecy...?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be here, Sher." Aline said sweetly. Sher shot her an annoyed glance.

"Way I see it, we can't find out anything here- sorry." He clapped one hand on Nelo's shoulder. "But-" he continued, "If we go to headquarters here in Barcelona..."

"Good point!" Aline grinned. "It's a given they'll know something." She turned to Nelo. "How's a trip to the city sound?"

"Whatever helps." he replied, his usual talkative self. "Thank you." he added.

"Lend me your keys?" Aline turned to Sher.

"Not a chance," he laughed. "I'm taking us there myself- now I'm interested."

—

In many other cities around the globe, the Agency headquarters were unobtrusive, nondescript buildings that could have passed for a bank, an office building- indeed, almost any type of building whatsoever- and were usually on little-used side streets. Not so in Barcelona. For some reason, the Agency HQ was located in a somewhat more salubrious place: Passeg de Gràcia. And as everyone who had seen it knew, if Passeg de Gràcia was crowded even in winter, in summer it was absolutely packed. Throngs of tourists loaded down with backpacks, cameras and bags no doubt containing souvenirs rushed up and down the street, in a hurry to get to their next destination. The locals moved at a slightly more serene pace, many of them not bothering to stay out of the way of the countless groups huddling to take a photo in front of this or that notable building.

The HQ itself stood not a block away from the Casa Milà, one of Barcelona's great tourist attractions. Thousands of people passed mere meters away from where agency employees were busy monitoring the activity levels of things that, to most of the world, did not exist. But for all its out-in-the-open location, it was one of the least known agency premises. Hidden in plain sight. It was an imposing building with a facade of black granite, and tinted windows that caught the sun's glare. A set of large, sliding glass doors- also tinted, and shut with a security code- gave entry to the select few who had access rights, and it was through these doors that Aline, Nelo and Sher found themselves stepping through. The lobby inside was deceptively tranquil; an enormous room with marble floors and pillars, with the roof reaching a height of almost two stories. A set of imposing stairs led to a second floor balcony with a glass banister that ran along the far end of the hall. However, Aline knew for a fact that the 'glass' banisters were actually made of bulletproof plexiglass, the spaces between affording comfortable sniping spots, and that motion-sensitive machine guns would come out of the walls and ceilings, movie style, at the push of a (panic) button.

Slightly dwarfed by the sheer size of the rest of the hall, a security desk stood slightly to one side of the entrance. Behind it sat a young blonde woman with an innocently bored expression. But her eyes gave away the fact that, in between bouts of scanning the rest of the room, she was studying the three intently. The group stopped at the security desk, two of them already showing laminated IDs.

"Maria." Aline greeted the Hunter-turned-security guard.

"Aline." Maria returned the greeting. "You're done with Mallet, then? And who's he?" her voice carried a note of interest to it, now. Aline barely stopped herself from grimacing. She had forgot that Maria had a thing for guys with pale hair.

"Yes, I'm done with Mallet, and this is my friend, Nelo. My access rights cover him." Hidden behind the words _my friend_ was another subtle message: _hands off_. Maria blinked.

"All right." she sighed, meaning it in more ways than one. Her eyes brightened again when she turned to Sher.

"Hey Sher!" she addressed the tanned Hunter. "Why don't you join me for a drink later, tonight?" she shot him and artfully innocent glance.

"Sorry, no can do." Sher replied smoothly. "I'm still busy with some of the artefacts from Mallet."

Aline swallowed a laugh. Sher and Maria had been engaged in a strange game of sorts for as long as she had known them, with Maria employing every trick she knew to try to get him to go out with her, and Sher smoothly extracting himself with excuses Maria couldn't possibly refute. But that was really just a game- everyone knew that Maria's interests really lay elsewhere...

"Fiine!" Maria sighed, a small pout decorating her lower lip. She began to type into her computer, talking all the while. "Go on in, then. And, Aline, if you see Adrian upstairs, tell him I'm _bored_ with this job." She snatched a sheet as it finished printing, handing it over to Nelo along with a smile. The words _Access Cleared_ could be read along the top. "And that either he admits defeat and gives me a field job, or he owes me a romantic candle-lit dinner."

Aline really did laugh that time. Although neither of them would admit it even if faced with a hoard of hungry demons, it was obvious that Maria had long had her eyes on the pale, formal, _absolutely gorgeous_ director of Barcelona's branch of the Agency. And, though it was always hard to tell with Adrian, there was a running bet among certain Hunters that he liked her, too.

"Will do," Aline laughed again.

"L's upstairs too, right?" Sher inquired.

"L's always upstairs. I doubt he even leaves his computer to sleep." Maria rolled her eyes.

"Great. Gotta talk to him," Sher murmured, already making his way to the marble staircase at the end of the hall.

"See you later." Maria sighed again. "And remember to tell Adrian!"

Aline waved a response, then followed Sher, motioning for Nelo to come with her.

—

"Adrian?" Aline knocked on the dark wooden door, decorated solely with a plain brass plaque that read: _District Director_. "Are you in?"

After a few moments the door opened inwards, revealing a tall, pale man in a dark suit, with fair features and locks of pristine hair of a color comparable to Nelo's. Oddly, he didn't seem to be that old- certainly no more than thirty. As a matter of fact, his age was one of the other popular betting subjects among certain Hunters. His cool, tranquil gaze lingered a moment on Aline, but when he saw Nelo, he blinked in surprise.

"Dante?" Seeing Nelo's blank stare, he quickly corrected himself. "Ah... I beg your pardon- I confused you with... an acquaintance of mine. At first glance you are somewhat similar." He seemed lost in thought for the briefest of instances, then he continued. "Please, come in; I'm not busy."

The District Director's office lacked, to some extent, the personal touch some others gave to their offices- Aline recalled Cid's office walls, filled with posters of everything from MIT**(1)** to Iron Maiden. The room was certainly salubrious; dark paneling lined the walls, and it was floored in the same (undoubtedly expensive) wood. A matching desk stood slightly near the back of the room- facing away from tinted windows covered by blinds- with a comfortable looking chair sheathed in black leather behind it, and an equally comfortable looking pair of chairs in front. Floor-to-ceiling bookcases (also dark wood) stuffed with leather-bound books lined one of the walls.

"Please, take a seat."

Aline did so, but Nelo remained standing, face a mask of calm. Adrian lowered himself into his own chair, slender fingers steepled and an intent look on his face.

"There was something you wished to speak to me of...?"

—

_Dante. Dante..._ That name stirred something in Nelo, something strange, unidentifiable. He knew the name, but at the same time he did not, and could never remember knowing it. It was... almost like an itch, in that unreachable place between the shoulder blades. He could not make it go away, so it stayed there, taunting him. He was certain the frustration would have driven any other person insane.

_Dante_. The name was important, somehow. He knew it, just as surely as anyone could see the sky and know it was the sky. He didn't know how he knew, though. It was like two parts of him, one telling him that he did not know the name and never had, and all the while the other insisting that he did know the name. He _did_ know a Dante.

The Director of the agency branch... Adrian, was his name-? had confused him for Dante. So this Dante had to be similar to him, at the very least.

"_And we're supposed to be..."_

Nelo blinked. Where had that thought come from? Or no, it wasn't a thought- it was more like a memory. But a memory of words with no image to accompany them? Words with no image. A name with no face. It was maddening...

He turned his attention to Aline and Adrian.

—

"It is indeed strange..." the Director nodded. "I'm afraid I can't help you with Nelo- I just checked the database, and we have no records of any Nelo whatsoever. There are many freelance Hunters that prefer to work outside the knowledge of the Agency. You know that yourself."

"Of course." Aline tilted her head. "But why was the file on Mallet locked? That's not normal. And what about this Dante person? Why do I get a feeling he's somehow important?"

Nelo frowned. So he wasn't the only one who thought the name significant...

"Dante..." the Director paused. "What I'm about to tell you must absolutely _not_ leave this room. Normally I wouldn't have told you, but I think it's important enough that you should know. Only a few people within the Agency itself have this information, and those can be counted on the fingers of your two hands." he paused again. "I'll make Sher the sole exception to this. I know you two trust each other absolutely."

"Carry on," Aline nodded. However, the Director typed several words into the computer, then turned the screen to face Aline, who quickly ran her eyes over the information on the page. Which wasn't much.

_Age unknown, date of birth also unknown... etc, etc. Profession, Hunter- of course. Pretty much the only thing they know about him is his name_. The thought was somewhat disturbing.

"Dante is the name of the person who took care of the Mallet incident for us- or, actually, instead of us. We received a short message from him a short while before he took up the job." He clicked once, and a window of text came up. The message read:

_I'm taking care of Mallet Island. Don't send anyone in; this is going to be one crazy party._

"Succinct," Aline noted. Adrian nodded.

"We don't keep in close contact; he prefers to work alone- but we do keep tabs on him."

"Why?"

The Director sighed. "It's difficult to explain, really, but the short answer would be because he is unbelievably powerful. You've heard of the people of demonic descent that live on Vie du Marlie?" Aline nodded once. "Their power doesn't _begin_ to approach what this man is capable of. Before you ask, yes, he _is_ that powerful. That's exactly why we keep a close watch on him."

"Hmm. I see." Aline frowned. Nelo chose that moment to speak.

"Then, if he really has the power you claim he does, that would mean he has demonic blood, or at least has formed a pact with a demon- right?"

Adrian looked at him with something akin to curiosity before answering.

"Yes, that's correct- the former, at least. I stress again that you must absolutely not speak to anyone else about this." Aline and Nelo both nodded. "If you want any more information, I'm afraid you'll have to visit him yourself. This is his address." He took a small square of paper and scribbled a few lines down, then passed it over to Aline.

"Great..." Aline studied the paper. "Is there any way I can convince the Agency to get us plane tickets?"

"I'll do better-" a smile almost seemed to adorn the Director's pale face. "I'll arrange for a private jet to be at your disposal at Barcelona airport."

Aline looked shocked.

"It's that important?" her voice was incredulous.

"I'm afraid so. I can't give full details for the simple reason that I don't know them all, but I promise you'll understand once you meet Dante."

"I guess that'll have to do." Aline sighed. Once the Director decided to shut his mouth on a subject, you couldn't pry it open again with a crowbar. She rose from her chair. "I hope you don't mind making another trip, Nelo." she grinned suddenly.

"Of course not," he answered at once. "Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you once Sher gets here. Thank you for your help," she addressed the Director.

"Not at all. You'll know the reason behind it-"

"When we meet Dante. Got it."

—

Once they were outside, the Director softly closed the door. He brought one hand to his face in a gesture strangely like weariness.

"Dante..." he sighed. "What in God's name have you been hiding from us?" He laughed softly, but it held no mirth. "You told us he was dead... but it turns out you were wrong- intentionally, or not?" He rested one hand on the polished surface of his desk.

"I just hope I was right to send him to you..."

—

As a matter of fact, Sher was sitting just outside the office, a broad grin pasted across his face.

"Something good happen?" Aline smiled.

"Cid just showed me the latest in weaponry. Jesus, but my stuff doesn't even compare with his..." Sher's smile became a little broader, if that was possible.

"Just like a little boy at Christmas," Aline sighed.

"Anyway, did Mr. Omniscient Director tell you anything useful?" Sher's expression was serious again.

"Somehow, a lot and nothing at the same time."

"You must be learning from him. That's the strangest answer I've heard from you yet."

Aline grinned. "I suppose so. Either way, he showed me the file on Mallet. The guy who took the job's name is Dante."

"I see."

"But there's next to no information available on the actual person. Seems he likes to remain obscure for some reason."

"That could be a problem," Sher frowned.

"Not really. Adrian gave me an address."

"Why didn't you say so?" Sher exclaimed, snatching the scrap of paper Aline waved at him.

"I just did," she laughed. Sher ignored the statement, opting instead to examine the paper.

"Hang on." Sher frowned. "This address is in..."

"Uh-huh." Aline grinned at them. "I've always loved New York anyway."

* * *

_So there it was! You liked it? Please say you liked it! Or give me constructive criticism, that's always helpful. Now clicky the little review button..._

**(1)**_**MIT:**__ Massachusetts Institute of Technology_


	8. Now Is All There Is

**Disclaimer:** _You know the drill, folks._

_Woohoo! Another chapter in such little time! So, without further ado, the next chapter! Oh, wait-_

_A/N: No, flashbacks are _not_ in italics this time. There was just too much that would have to be italicized. Since the whole chapter is basically a flashback._

* * *

"You're kidding!"

"Naw, and that's when he said he wanted a lawyer- like there wasn't enough evidence already there to put him away for good. I mean, I don't work for forensics, and _I_ could see what was goin' on, no problem."

"Yeah, is it just me or do criminals these days seem to be getting dumber?"

"Or there's a bigger gap between the dumb ones and the smart ones..."

Three men sat in a bar. Or, more specifically, at a secluded table near the window, in a bar, conveniently shielded from peering eyes by a large and rather flowery pot plant.

The youngest of the three men had light brown hair and laughing brown eyes. The other two were decidedly older, one of them with grey at his temples, the other with pale blue eyes. All three had at least one gun concealed somewhere on their person, and it was a safe bet that a search would have yielded several knives from at least the two older men, and quite possibly the younger one as well. Not that anyone at the bar would ever dream of even looking for a concealed weapon; the three were regulars at the bar, and therefore branded worthy of trust.

"Can I get y'all anything else?" a buxom waitress smiled a them as she sashayed up to their table.

"Naw, we're all right sweetie," the man with blue eyes smiled back.

"Being an officer has its advantages," the man with grey hair muttered as the waitress sauntered off. "At least for you younger ones."

"You mean being an officer, and off duty," the man with laughing eyes corrected. The trio chuckled.

"Anyway." The man with the laughing eyes stood., grabbing his leather jacket from the back of the plain wooden chair.

"Going home already?" the blue-eyed man said.

"Yeah. Marisol gets worried if I get home too late."

"Well, see you tomorra." The two older men stood up for a brief handshake before the younger departed, leaving a couple dollars on the table behind him.

—

The young man whistled softly as he made his way back to his home. If he noticed the unusual silence that seemed to permeate the street, he ignored it. As he reached his home, a modest white house with roses climbing up a net his wife had placed for that purpose, he stopped with a puzzled expression on his face. None of the lights were on. _Strange,_ he thought. Surely it couldn't be that late. He quickly checked his watch- _9:57_. No, not that late at all. So why...?

He opened the front gate, thankful for having remembered to oil the hinges a couple days ago, and unlocked the front door to the house.

"Mari?" He called to the dark interior. No answer. _Is she asleep?_ He discarded the possibility almost as soon as he thought of it. His wife was a night owl; she hated going to sleep before midnight. He flicked the light switch, to no avail. So that explained why the all the lights were off: the power must be out. But why wasn't Mari answering?

"Mari? You there?" he called again to the silent house. He advance warily, then froze as something crunched under his boot. Slowly, he bent down to see what it was. Ceramic, judging from the texture. A quick- though blind- search of the end table next to him provided an answer; Mari's favorite vase. _She'd never leave her favorite vase lying in pieces._ Something was decidedly wrong here.

Slowly he pulled his handgun from the holster at his side and advanced towards the living room, where light trickled in through the curtains from the street lamp outside. He entered suddenly, ready to shoot- nothing. The living room was completely empty, and silent. The whole house, in fact, was silent as the grave. An uncomfortable metaphor at that moment, he realized, tightening his hold on the handgun.

His worry growing, he quickly opened the door to the kitchen. Again, nothing. And he could feel icy fear starting to claw at his heart. _Oh, God, please let her be safe please let her be all right please,_ a small voice in the back of his mind pleaded. Firmly pushing it away, he called again.

"Mari! Where are you? Mari, please answer me!" The only answer was an eery silence. Abandoning all caution, he ran back through the living room and entry hall into the dining room- and opened the door to a sight that would stay branded in his memory for the rest of his life.

What was once a dark oak dining table was now only so much splinter and broken fragments of wood. The overhead light looked like it had been ripped from the ceiling; it lay along with fallen chunks of plaster, presumably also from the ceiling, and deep gashes ran diagonally along the walls. The windows had been completely smashed in, allowing a faint breeze to trickle in along with the dim light from outside.

And Mari, his beloved wife Marisol, lay among shards of glass and fragments of porcelain and wood, her face a frozen mask of terror. Blood stained her clothes and face, pooling on the floor beneath her, and both her legs were bent at unnatural angles, obviously broken.. He did not need to look into her sightless eyes to know that she was already dead.

_There's blood on the walls,_ he thought irrationally at first. Then, _Oh God. Mari. Oh God Mari, please Mari don't be dead please, I love you Mari don't be dead. Mari! Oh God please God why, not Mari please, oh Mari, please!_

It was then that he noticed the... thing... that was hunched over her. Quivering black wings joined to something that looked vaguely human in the half-light, except that no human had wings. Or talons that tore large rents in the carpet, instead of hands. Eyes that shone in the dark like a crocodile's turned to gaze at him, and he raised his gun with trembling hands.

"Get away..." his voice was no more than a whisper. He tried again. "Get away from her..."

The thing emitted a sound eerily like a chuckle. Then, suddenly, it launched itself directly at him with an inhuman shriek, talons extended and mouth opened wide to reveal a formidable set of snake-like fangs. With a yell, he threw himself backwards onto the polished wooden floor of the hallway. Acting purely on instinct, he fired his gun at the creature; he thought he heard it scream as the tips of its wings brushed his outstretched hand.

Heart racing, he somehow managed to turn his dive into a roll, jumping to his feet as quickly as he could. The creature had shot past him and into the living room, leaving a trail of wreckage and general destruction in its wake; it had even taken out part of the door frame, somehow. He dimly noticed his hand was bleeding- apparently the glossy black wings weren't as innocuous as they first appeared. The creature was once again unmoving, crouched amidst what he recognized as the remains of what was once an armchair. _It's destroying everything. It attacked me. God, it killed Mari!_ Something inside him snapped.

"You bastard!" he howled. "I'll fucking kill you!" Raising his gun, he fired several rounds at the creature. The bullets pierced flesh, sending a fine spray of blood across the walls. The thing let loose another shriek, though this time it sounded more angry than anything else. It threw itself at him again, wings beating powerfully. He threw himself down and to the side, wincing as his shoulder collided with the wall. It would get him eventually if he stayed in the confines of the hallway, he realized. _I have to move._

As rapidly as he could, he hurtled towards the living room, half tripping over broken pieces of wood and plaster. This time, the creature didn't wait before attacking again. He turned around just in time to see it drawing closer at a startling speed. Desperately, he threw himself to one side again, firing all the while. He felt the thing's claws raked his shoulder, ripping the leather coat like so much rice paper. He yelled, lashing out instinctively with one arm. The thing retreated maybe a foot, allowing him to regain him balance. He raised his gun to fire again- only to hear a rapid clicking sound. Cold fear inched its way up his spine as he realized what this meant; his the magazine was empty. And without bullets, he concluded with a strange detachment, he would most likely die in short order.

His eyes widened as blurred shapes- no, creatures identical to the first, stepped out of the shadows. _More than one?!_ Three pairs of glowing eyes stared balefully at him now, and three fanged mouths bore cruel mockeries of smiles.

The sudden sound of splintering glass caused the creatures' predatory gazes to leave him, opting instead to focus on the new arrival- a man in a black coat, with unruly raven hair and blue eyes, who was currently occupying himself with smashing in the window. Placing one gloved hand on the windowsill, he vaulted over, pistol in hand.

"Hey," he greeted, and fired thrice with unerring aim. Two of the bullets found their mark, but the third creature managed to dodge sideways with incredible speed. It swiped at the stranger with one talon, but he nimbly stepped out of range and fired again. The other two tried to come from either side, but the stranger rolled out of the way, and the two creatures collided in a burst of black feathers.

It was like a dance, each party attempting to outsmart the other, one attacking then the other. Like a dance on the edge of a knife, where one fatal slip could end it all. The young man watched with bemused eyes.

Suddenly, one of the creatures seemed to dissolve into... dust? No, sand that seemed to glitter in the half-light.

"Who's next?" The stranger taunted. As though they could understand, the two remaining monsters uttered twin cries of rage. As one, they launched themselves at the stranger, but he jumped and, using the head of the nearer one as a booster, flipped over the two monsters, landing on all fours. So quickly the movement was almost a blur, he reloaded the magazine of his handgun and fired four more rounds at the creature that had the misfortune to be closest. It was blown away, and a fine layer of sand coated the floor.

One creature left now. It appeared to realize this too, because it paused as if uncertain, before spreading its wings and propelling itself towards the stranger at full throttle. The stranger jumped back, but the monster spun around, and the stranger grunted as one knife-like wing raked his chest. He barely paused, however, before attempting to shoot the creature again. It dodged sideways in one fluid movement.

Surprisingly, the stranger let the gun drop from his hands- and even as it fell reached into the depths of his coat and drew out another, this one a sub-machine gun. Keeping up a steady hail of bullets, he reached again into his voluminous coat. And drew out an odd-looking sphere filled with a blueish liquid.

"Dodge this." He grunted. And he threw the sphere with surprising force at the creature- which did exactly what it had been prompted to, and attempted to dodge sideways again. Unfortunately for it, not quickly enough. A large amount of the blueish liquid spattered across its legs and midriff.

The creature let loose a blood-curdling howl and staggered back, clutching its torso. In two strides the stranger closed the gap between them and placed his gun to the creature's head.

"You're dead," he smirked. And he fired.

With a final shriek, the creature dissolved into a pile of sand that trickled onto the floor. And then there was silence. The man with brown hair let himself slide to the floor, handgun slipping from nerveless grasp.

"You all right?" A hand touched his shoulder and instantly drew back. "Looks like a pretty nasty cut you got there. Here..."

A pleasantly cool sensation spread from his shoulder. Suddenly seeming to find his voice again, the young man gasped: "Th-they- they k-killed her." Tears started to roll down his cheeks as the reality of everything that had happened crashed in on him like a wave. "She's dead, Mari's d-dead, they killed h-her a-a-and I couldn't d-do anything, I couldn't save her, she's dead..." His knees buckled as a wave of grief seized him and he howled. "Damn them! They murdered her!"

An arm hauled him to his feet and held him steady. He wanted to sink back to the floor. He wanted to hold Mari in his arms again. He wanted to kill the bastards that had ruined his life. He wanted... he wanted revenge. He shook the other man off.

"Who are you? What were those things?" His voice threatened to waver; he clenched his jaw. The stranger fixed a steady gaze on him.

"Those things that attacked you were demons." He continued before the other could speak. "I know you may not believe it now, but for what it's worth, it _is_ true. Now-" The stranger's gaze became, if possible, even more serious. "There are three things you can do. From what I understand, they killed someone you loved- if you want, you can just give up and die. Which you will; once they've come at you once, those bastards don't know when to call it quits. You can also try to rebuild your life and pretend nothing ever happened- some people do. But they'll attack you again anyway. You were lucky this time; you survived. You can't count on the same luck the second time." The stranger paused. "Or... you can seek revenge. Go out and get 'em for what they've done. I- we- can help you there."

The man was silent for a moment before speaking. "We?"

For the first time the stranger grinned. "Me and the other Hunters. We kill demons. Still-" His voice took on a cautionary note. "I have to warn you, you'll probably die before the first or second year anyway."

The man shook his head, and smiled; a feral grin. "No, I won't." He chuckled as though at some joke only he knew. "I'll kill them all before I die. All of them!"

The stranger clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"That's the spirit," he said solemnly. Abruptly, he removed his hand from the other's shoulder and offered it. "My name's Zach. I kill demons."

The other man took the proffered hand.

"My name's Sher," he replied somewhat hoarsely.

—

The man with the laughing eyes was brought back to the present rather abruptly by a sudden and unexpected jab to the ribs.

"Ow!" He hissed at the grinning young woman sitting next to him. "What the hell was that for, Aline?"

"Just wondering what you were thinking," Aline explained with an air of obviously faked innocence. "Good thing you let me drive, though- you'd have gone off the road, staring off into nothing like that."

"Well..." Sher fell silent, unable to think of an excuse.

"Besides." Her tone softened. "'The past is gone, now is all there is', right? No use mourning what you can't change."

Sher shot a considering look at her.

"... And then you pretend you don't realize what other people are up to. You're smarter than most people realize."

Aline coughed uncomfortably, cheeks reddening slightly at the praise.

"Well, I recognize that look, you know." She grinned again suddenly. "It's the same one my grandfather gets every time he starts reminiscing about 'his day'." She craned her neck around to look briefly at the man in the back seat. "You all right back there, Nelo?"

Nelo raised his icy blue eyes from the book he was reading.

"Quite." He answered politely. "Thank you for the book, by the way. Most fascinating."

"Don't mention it." Apparently satisfied with the answer, Aline turned her attention back to the road. Sher regarded her a moment more before turning his head to look back out the window.

"The past is gone." He murmured to himself, so low nobody else would hear.

So, that's the latest chapter! Like it? Hate it?

I stuck in a quote here an' a reference there, sneaky ol' me. The line "like so much rice paper" is a _deliberate_ tip of the hat to Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, which I don't own, by the way, so don't sue me.

The quote "The past is gone, now is all there is" is from SSX tricky.

And... a hunter with unruly black hair and blue eyes, whose name sounds suspiciously like 'Zack'? Could he possibly be a cameo character? And wherever from? XD

By the way, guess which book Nelo's reading. Go on, it isn't that difficult. (nudges toward the review button.)


	9. A Slight Complication

**A/N:** _It lives!!!_ I'm sorry it took so long, I have no idea how that happened. I also apologize for the unfortunate lack of Nelo in the previous chapter- my bad. Sorry! So, to remedy that, I give you one full chapter of Nelo goodness.

And hey, momentous news! I have officially received my first flame. Two, actually, from the same person. Go on, read them- they're in the reviews section. (I have to warn you, though. The second one is entirely in capitals. Read at your eyes' own risk.) The utter stupidity of it made me laugh aloud. Call me weird, but I find it quite funny that someone will waste their time reading a story, then shoot off a flame (in which they stoop to vulgar insults and accusations about my parentage), but fail to actually state the reason they find the story not to their liking. Hah. I think someone once referred to their flames as 'mass-produced vitriol'. So true. Anyway, my sincerest thanks to Bustahead , who beta'ed this chapter for me, and Scar Queen, who left a _very_ nice review- _you rock!_

By the by- I went back and looked at the summary for this fic, and saw that I had originally listed it under Romance/Angst. _...Whaaaaat? _So, I corrected that, and fixed the horrendously lame summary as well Hopefully it's a little better now.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own DMC or any characters, plotlines, etc. thereof. Just my OCs, and this story!

* * *

_If he was once fair as he is now foul,_

_And 'gainst the Maker dared his brows to raise,_

_Fitly from him all streams of sorrow roll_...

"Is that your second read through?"

Nelo set down the leather-bound book on his knee and raised his eyes to meet Aline's.

"Yes," he admitted. "I find the portrayal of the seven Hells fascinating."

"If you want-" Aline flopped unceremoniously into the seat opposite him. "I can get you a different book. How about Shakespeare?"

Who would have thought the Hunter held a love for classic literature? Nelo shook his head. "That's not necessary, thank you." A thought occurred to him. "How is it you're not piloting?"

"I wanted to stretch my legs, so Sher took over for me. Though I think we're currently on autopilot, actually."

"Ah." Nelo ran one pale finger down the spine of the book, tracing the gold letters. _The Divine Comedy._ The author, Dante, guided through _Inferno_ and _Purgatorio_ by a man named Virgil. Perhaps a strange coincidence that the man they wanted to see was named Dante.

Pulling a laptop from a black case propped against the side of the seat, Aline booted it up and in short order was typing furiously. Nelo raised one eyebrow.

"An article on ancient symbols," she said in response to Nelo's unasked question. "I said I was a specialist in the occult, didn't I?" She looked up at him. Nelo nodded, and she continued. "Every hunter worth their salt knows there are uses for symbols- wards and such- but few people stop to think what might happen if some collage student with a liking for the occult gets their hands on some spell- and there _are_ spells floating around antique shops and flea markets, if you know where to look- and summons up Hell knows what without knowing."

"But it's impossible to make everyone aware of the dangers of performing any spell they can find, without simultaneously making everyone aware of the existence of a parallel world- and some people might not believe it, but those that did might be enough to cause mass panic, of global proportions perhaps," Nelo pointed out.

"Exactly." Aline seemed pleased that he had grasped the problem so quickly. "That's why I'm writing this. My point is that it's more efficient, not to mention safer, to hunt down the spells before they're actually used. The sad reality of things is that, even though there's been an increase in our numbers in the past years, the Hunters are still really a poor defense against demons. We do what we can, but..." she trailed off for a moment. "But when we come against something really powerful- well, there's only so much we can do." She rested her had against the back of the seat.

"Like the Temen-Ni-Gru incident all those years ago. God only knows how many hunters had to be sacrificed to bring _that_ down, and we _still_ don't even know the straight of it- are you all right?" she peered concernedly at Nelo's face, suddenly ashen.

He didn't answer.

—

_...doesn't it excite you? The Temen-Ni-Gru has revived..._

_...none of my concern._

_...why do you refuse to gain power?_

_...must more blood be shed?_

_What have I done?_

Temen-Ni-Gru. The name stirred a flood of emotions in him. Rage, hate, longing, desire- fear? No- they weren't even proper emotions. More like... memories of emotions.

No, wait- there was one there. An icy ball of unease. But why, though?

Voices, half-forgotten and with no names or faces to put to them, resounded in his head.

Temen-Ni-Gru. Why was that name so important? Desperately he tried to grab at memories that just were not there. It was like trying to hold smoke with his bare hands- the more he desperately grabbed, the more it slipped away from him. Damn it all!

A soft touch brought him back to reality, as he realized Aline had rested a hand on his arm, eyes slightly widened, uncertainty written plain across her face.

_So easy to read. You always were more like them..._

He shook his head in an attempt to clear it. That wasn't _his_ thought, was it? Damn!

It came to him that Aline had said something. Yes, she had asked if he was all right.

"I'm... fine," he enunciated slowly.

"You're sure?"

_So easy to read-_

"Yes."

She still looked unsure, but withdrew her hand. He attempted a smile, but knew it looked forced. Oddly enough, she smiled back. He took a deep breath.

"Temen-Ni-Gru. What is it?" he asked.

"Eh-?" For a moment she looked confused, then realization dawned on her face. "Oh, yeah. Sorry- I took it for a given that everyone knows about it. Temen-Ni-Gru is the name of an ancient tower. Legend is unclear whether it was built by demons, or demon-worshipers, but it served as a gateway between the demonic realm and this one."

She smiled wryly. "And that's pretty much all we know about it, except for the fact that it was sealed by Sparda- you know who Sparda is, right?" Now she sounded like she wasn't sure whether it was a serious question or not.

_Sparda._

"Traitor." He muttered, then blinked.

"Traitor?" Aline smiled slightly, then suddenly grew serious. "That's right," she murmured. "I suppose demons would see him as a traitor, at that."

_Traitor. Scum._

_Hero. Saint._

_Fath-_

Nelo nodded.

"He was a traitor to the demons. But he was mankind's savior." What more could be said, really?

Aline smiled again, seeming grateful for some reason.

"At any rate, what we know is that someone broke the seal on it- about ten years ago.**(1)** But we don't-"

A sudden prickling feeling was his warning. He was on his feet before he realized he had stood up.

"What is it?" She looked slightly alarmed, as well she might. Because-

"Something's coming," he told her calmly.

As if on cue, Sher's voice spilled out from the cockpit.

"Aline! Nelo! Get in here!"

As one they dashed towards the aluminum door.

"What?" Aline spoke first.

"We've got company on the radar! Big, demonic and headed our way!"

Aline summed up the situation succinctly.

"Oh, Hell."

—

A gentle knock pulled the District Director's eyes from the report he had been reading, entitled _A Short Summary Of Demonic Activity in Spain (1900-2000)_. Whoever had decided to include the word 'short' in the title had been either a pathological liar or severely delusional, he had soon decided. He had been reading for several hours already and, despite being a phenomenally fast reader, was no more than half-way through. He set down the book and massaged his temples briefly.

"Yes?" he raised his voice slightly so it would carry through the wooden door.

The aforementioned door opened slightly and Maria stepped in.

"Adrian- em, Mr. Tepes... sir?" She sounded uncertain. "Ah... Scarlet's here."

"Scarlet?" He struggled to keep incredulity from his voice, thankfully succeeding. "I thought she was up in Norway."

"Not any more," an authoritative voice came from behind Maria, and the woman herself stepped into the room followed by a man in a blue blazer.

One glance at Scarlet told that the woman seemed to strive to live up to her name. Where nature failed- her skin was pale and her hair blonde- she made up for it with a knee-length silk dress in a violent shade of crimson, and lipstick of the same color.

"Maria, if you would, the Director and I need a few words in _private_." It was not a request. Maria's face went a delicate shade of pink and she mumbled something unintelligible before slipping out the door. The man in the blazer remained, however.

"Really..." Scarlet took one of the leather chairs without waiting for an invitation. "What on earth were you thinking?" she laughed in a falsetto voice.

"You'll have to clarify for me there." He allowed a small smile to cross his face. He suspected he knew very well what she spoke of, however.

"Don't play the fool. You know very well what I mean," she echoed his thought uncannily closely. How on earth did she do that? But she was already continuing.

"A while ago one of my... subordinates-" _A nice way of saying 'spies'_."Came to me with a very interesting surveillance video." She paused tapping one slim nail- painted crimson, naturally- on his desk. "Very interesting. It showed three people walking into this building, and then walking out again a short while later. And one of them... looked remarkably like Dante. Except that Dante is, at this moment, in New York." She paused again to let the full meaning of those words sink in- not that she needed to. Adrian already knew, with a sinking feeling, what conclusion she must have drawn.

"So unless Sparda himself has somehow managed to revive himself- I'd conclude that it's the remaining member of _that_ little family." She shook her head again with a great show of regret. "So I'll ask you again. _What were you thinking?_ You had Dante's brother in the palm of you hand, and you let him walk free instead of killing him as soon as he entered the building?

"And those people he walked with were identified as two of _your_ subordinates!" She drew a calming breath. "So tell me, _Director_, am I to believe you had no part in this... this _coup_?" A deathly silence permeated the room when she finished.

"Really, Scarlet, you do have the knack for drawing erroneous conclusions." He shook his head. Scarlet frowned but said nothing. "There is no coup, or anything remotely similar. Merely that, contrary to everyone's belief, Dante's brother did indeed survive their clash on Mallet island.

"Whether Dante's even aware of this, I'm not sure. But I wouldn't think he'd keep something like that a secret-" He paused. "At least, not without making sure he had the situation under admittedly minimal control, at least." He amended.

"And, contrary to what you think, the two Hunters with him have no idea of who- or what- he is. When he came here, he was using the alias 'Nelo', for some reason. I gave him Dante's address... and sent them on their way." He raised a hand, cutting Scarlet off as she opened her mouth to speak. She settled back in her chair, anger written plainly across her face.

"Despite what you might think, Scarlet, I'm no fool. I know I and all the Hunters in this building could never hope to match the power of a son of Sparda. I sent him to Dante in the hopes that he would be able to take care of him, and he went. I had no ulterior motive, believe me."

To his surprise, Scarlet smiled. Then she laughed again, a trilling falsetto.

"You say you hoped Dante would... _take care _of him?" Her smile grew a trifle wider. "Then you should know- Dante won't have to. _I'm_ already taking care of the situation which _you_ have botched." She stood up and turned to the door.

"Oh." She threw out as an afterthought. "You should probably know that you'll soon be _severely_ demoted for this fiasco. I thought I should warn you- since we're old friends."

—

"I'll take care of it." Nelo announced, as though he were simply stating an intention to go for a stroll through a park. Both Aline and Sher turned to look at him, Sher twisting around in the seat in what Aline considered to be a _very_ dangerous fashion. They didn't tell you to look to the front when you piloted a plane for the heck of it, after all.

"You'll _what_?" Sher growled.

"I'll take care of it." Nelo repeated.

"And just _how_ do you think you'll do that?" Sher threw both his arms up, and Aline winced.

_No hands... doesn't matter at this point anyway._

"I'm going out." Nelo stated simply. "I'll be fine." He added as an afterthought.

"You're- argh, what the heck!" Sher turned back to the front, much to Aline's relief. "If you're feeling suicidal-"

"Go." Aline interrupted.

"What?" Sher exploded. "Aline-"

"If you think you can do it, then go. Explanations later, Sher."

If there is a 'later'." Sher scowled, but turned back to the controls. Aline shot a nervous smile at Nelo, a smile he briefly returned before turning 180 degrees and marching to one of the emergency doors. Checking to make sure the door to the cockpit was securely closed, he opened the door.

A blast of cold air greeted him, ripping the air from his lungs. If he hadn't had a secure grip on the doorframe, he was certain he would have been blown out of the plane. Struggling to breathe, he raised his gaze. What met it filled him with dread and strange excitement at the same time.

An enormous griffon with a wingspan longer than the plane was, approaching entirely too fast for his taste- or anyone's for that matter. Instantly he knew; if he didn't do something, all three of them were doomed. There was no way either Aline or Sher could cope with the huge creature that drew closer to the plane with each passing second.

What _could _he do, though? Nothing, reason told him. And yet, something else told him he could take on the gargantuan demon. He knew.

And so, he jumped.

Jumped with enough force to not just clear the plane's wingspan, but to propel himself towards the demon at a breakneck speed.

And as he jumped, he recalled the feeling he had had, just for an instant, when he had been struggling to get Aline to the surface in time, when poison was coursing through her veins more rapidly than he could swim...

Power.

It was a feeling of raw, undeniable power, and for just an instant, his hands-

His hands became claws, his skin and clothes vanished, replaced by a blueish armored carapace, and a pair of matching wings sprouted from his back.

Now, this was more like it.

With one powerful beat of his wings he balanced himself and stopped to survey the oncoming demon.

_Pitiful,_ thought a newfound voice inside him derisively. He could take this with one hand, probably. No, no _probably_ about it. _Certainly_.

The griffon had changed its course now, heading for him instead of the airplane. Of course; he was the only _truly_ worthy opponent, in its eyes. So much for being underestimated.

But really, the demon was underestimating him anyway if it thought it even had a chance against him.

—

There was another knock at the door. Adrian sighed.

"Come in," he called out wearily. Maria again? She would probably inquire about the nature of Scarlet's visit, and was he okay because he looked a little tired and was he sure he wasn't overworking himself?

But instead of Maria, it was the man-sans blazer- that stepped in. The Director sat up a little, interested.

"May I help you?" _Why are you here?_ Adrian was sure he could read the subtext to his polite inquiry.

"I forgot my blazer." _I needed an excuse to come and talk to you_. "Scarlet's waiting outside," the man added. _It's something private._

The Director nodded. "I see. Please, sit, Mr...?" _Tell me._

"The name's Vincent. And thank you, but I'd rather not sit." he declined, much to the Director's surprise. He leaned against the wall and began to speak.

"While it's true that you have overstepped your authority, Scarlet's also overstepped hers. She's dispatched Seekers to _take care,_ as she puts it, of Sparda's son."

The Director winced. Seekers were elite Hunters, and only took care of the most dangerous of missions. "How many?" he asked.

"At least five, possibly more. They'll be waiting at JFK airport- an before you ask, Scarlet used her authority to get hold of the flight plan."

This was bad. Very much so.

"Then I have to contact Sher and Aline- get them to change their flight plan."

"That would not be advisable."

"I know, but I can't risk any fatalities."

"Even if you contact them, the Seekers will still find them-"

"I know that-"

"And a move like this will reflect badly on you, you'll look like a traitor-"

"_**I know**_!" the Director stood, slamming his palms on the desk. "But if they land and find the Seekers, someone _will_ die, and at the moment I'm not sure which it'll be, the Seekers or my own men or the _son of Sparda_! And answer me this: what do you think will happen if Dante finds out his own brother was _murdered_? Do you wish for us _all_ to be on the receiving end of his wrath?"

He sat back down. Vincent looked off to one side, silent.

"At the moment, the only thing I can do is contact them and get them to land somewhere else- then I can talk to the higher-ups and explain this fiasco."

Vincent paused before nodding. "Then do that. But... this can't turn out well."

"I know," the Director sighed. Vincent turned and left the office.

—

The griffon was almost on him now. With utter calm and precision, Nelo dove until he was directly underneath the demon. Then, with one flap of his leathery wings, he flew upwards with a speed so great that, if a normal human could have observed him, all they would have seen was a mere blur.

Outstretched claws sank into the griffon's feathery underside as the two demons collided. The griffon shrieked and immediately wheeled away. A thin trail of thick, dark blood fell away from the long gash Nelo had inflicted, dropping down to the ocean below, before the cut sealed itself.

The griffon shrieked, enraged, and dived down at Nelo, who drew the Yamato in preparation. He twisted in midair to avoid the griffon, and with his sword landed a crushing blow to the demon's back as it passed him in the way down. The griffon plummeted for all of a thousand feet before its spine repaired itself and it was able to fly upwards again.

Furious, the demon redoubled its efforts, twisting and wheeling, trying to find some advantage over Nelo who, in turn, deftly avoided and countered everything the griffon could throw at him. It raked its claws across his back, attempting to pierce the armored carapace. Nelo turned to return the blow, and then the demon seized the opportunity.

It caught first one arm, then another in its huge talons. Nelo's suspicions were confirmed when the demon began to pull each arm in a different direction; having discovered that it couldn't cut through his armor, the griffon had instead opted to rip him limb from limb.

Pain lanced through both shoulders; the griffon's new tactic was working. Nelo knew, if he didn't free himself somehow, he would lose the fight, and therefore his life.

Suddenly, an explosion sounded immediately above him. The griffon suddenly let go, and he began to fall. Looking up, he saw the reason for the unexpected reprieve; a missile or several had been fired from the plane, and had literally exploded in the demon's face. Unable to see, the griffon hovered in midair, momentarily distracted. This gave Nelo all the advantage he needed.

_Enough playing._ It was time to put an end to the battle. Bloodlust burning in his eyes, he tightened his grip on the Yamato.

Summoning what was left of his energy, he teleported, reappearing directly above the griffon's head. He crushed what was left of its head with a powerful downward kick, then teleported again, and again, all the while inflicting devastating wounds on the demon. Finally, the griffon could take no more, and it dissolved into a thin stream of blood and feathers, a red smear in the air that dropped down to the ocean.

Exhausted, Nelo managed to fly back to the plane and close the emergency exit, before the exhaustion took over him and he turned back to human form. He slumped against the wall, where he sat gasping. The door to the cockpit opened, and both Hunters came out.

"Are you all right?" Aline asked, awe and concern in her voice.

"Perfectly. Just tired," he responded shortly. He stood on shaky legs and staggered to the nearest seat.

"That was incredible," Aline shook her head. "I had no idea, how did you...?" she trailed off.

"Devil Trigger," he said. _It used to be easier, I used to be stronger..._ He didn't remember where he had learned the name.

"Devil... Trigger?" Aline repeated. Then Sher spoke.

"Transformation into Devil state. Not a lot of people know about it; it's not very common. Apparently only people of _demonic_ descent can use it. Like the inhabitants of Vie du Marlie."

"Oh. Now I remember." Aline shifted uncomfortably. "I think... you probably would like an explanation, then." Her voice was quiet.

"What is there to explain?" Sher's voice was surprisingly light. "I already knew he was a demon."

Aline blinked in surprise, and Nelo murmured "Really?" Sher nodded.

"When you saved Aline from the kraken demon, you Devil Triggered." Nelo nodded at this, and Sher continued. "You changed back immediately after you broke the surface, but I still got a good enough look," he concluded.

"Ah. I see." Nelo closed his eyes.

"Wait- wait a minute!" Aline looked confused, then slightly angry. "You mean you knew all this time, and you didn't tell me?" she accused. Sher shrugged.

"Apparently we're guilty of the same crime. Either way, I figured you knew when you suddenly got so interested in the Mallet Island file. Since you didn't tell me about it yourself, I just though you might prefer not to talk about it."

"Well- but-" The look on Aline's face turned to sheepish as she searched for something to say. Finally she said weakly, "I suppose I should have told you. But I was apprehensive about your reaction. I know how much you hate demons."

Sher sighed. "Yeah, I guess you're right about that. Either way..." he paused and looked thoughtfully at Nelo. "I've got to take care of the plane," he finished. "Impressive fight, by the way," he addressed Nelo.

He turned and left the passenger area, but as he left Nelo suspected that _'I have to take care of the plane'_ hadn't been what he had wanted to say.

—

His eyes were still closed, Aline saw, strands of platinum hair obscuring his face- but he almost certainly wasn't asleep. She rested her own head on the leather headrest.

_Dante._

_Nelo._

_Devil Trigger._

She hadn't felt this out of her depth since her first day at the agency. Both she and Sher had known that there was something very strange about Nelo- the armor, his wounds- but...

"You seem uneasy."

Aline jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. He was gazing at her steadily, now.

"A little, I guess," she smiled wryly. Of course- people with demonic blood were especially adept at sensing other people's feelings. "I get the sense things are spiraling out of control, though. The last time powerful demons started showing up was around when we started to register high levels of demonic activity around Mallet Island... Why on earth would a demon that powerful show up now?"

"I fear I might be the reason." His voice was soft.

"I thought of that," she frowned. "But... well, it doesn't matter anyway. The sooner we get to this Dante person, the faster we'll get to the bottom of this."

Nelo nodded in agreement.

—

The radio at Sher's side suddenly crackled as a tinny voice emanated from it.

"Sher and Aline, if you can hear me, pick up. I repeat, Sher and Aline..."

Sher snatched the transceiver from its cradle.

"This is Sher talking. Mr. Tepes?"

"Sher! Thank god-" the Director's voice sounded relieved. "Why didn't the line work earlier?"

"There was a demon in the vicinity, it probably caused interference- why?"

"You have to change your flight plan. Now."

With a sinking feeling, Sher responded. "I can't sir- we're too close. I've already started descent."

The Director sighed. "Then you must listen closely. You remember Scarlet?"

"Who wouldn't?" Sher said wryly.

"Somehow, she found out about Nelo- and she's not happy. She's sent out a team of Seekers to arrest you all- or kill you, if necessary."

Now it was Sher's turn to sigh. "What can we do?"

"You can't let Nelo fall into her hands."

"Because he's one of the most powerful demons we've ever seen."

"That's one reason, yes..." the other trailed off.

"What else is there?" Sher demanded.

"She found out about this and came down to Spain in a matter of mere hours, Sher. I have no idea how she did it, but my people are investigating. Sher... we have to seriously consider the possibility that she's corrupt. She may have made some sort of pact in exchange for information."

"I think that's a pretty big stretch- even for Scarlet." Sher was skeptical.

"Not really. Power corrupts- and Scarlet always was power-hungry. So warn Aline and Nelo. If we find out anything I'll contact you."

"Understood. Sher out." Placing the receiver back in its cradle, he rested his head in his hands for a mere moment before calling Nelo and Aline back into the cockpit.

"We have a problem," he stated.

"Again?" Aline sighed exasperatedly.

"What is it?" Nelo inquired.

"Seekers," was the succinct answer. Aline paled.

"What are they?" Nelo again.

"Elite Hunters, trained to take on only the most dangerous of missions," Sher explained worriedly, frowning. "Five of them at least. And apparently they're after you, Nelo. They also have orders to arrest us."

"Oh god." Aline put her hands to her mouth, looking even paler, if possible. "We can't face _five_ Seekers- if not _more_- and come out of it alive," she shook her head.

"Perhaps I can distract them while you two escape?" Nelo offered. Sher laughed mirthlessly.

"That's the one thing you won't be doing. They don't particularly care about us, but they'd _love_ to get their hands on you."

"Why?"

"You're an incredibly powerful demon, and therefore a threat. Which also means they'll be waiting for you. No, here's what we'll do," Sher decided. "I don't think they'll be particularly inclined to waste their ammo on us with you lurking around, so we can afford to stall them at the door while you circle around the back and get 'em from behind. Hopefully that'll avert this crisis without bloodshed."

"But they'll be watching the doors, Sher," Aline pointed out.

"Well, you know what they say-" Sher's lips quirked. "If you can't use the door, make your own."

—

The five men were waiting as the silver plane glided smoothly into the hangar. All five of them wore long coats, though that wasn't a fashion statement so much as practicality. You could conceal a lot of weaponry underneath a long coat. Swiftly, two of them moved to the far side of the plane, covering the other door. One of them shifted slightly and coughed, but other than that they were silent, waiting for the door to open.

And it did, revealing a man and a woman. As they climbed down the stairs onto the tarmac, the man said, "So what's this now, a welcoming committee? I didn't know we were that important- did you, Aline?"

The woman looked slightly pale, but smiled nonetheless.

"This is a first for me too, Sher. What's going on?" she addressed the three Seekers before them.

"Sher and Aline," one of them- obviously the leader- began, "We have reason to believe you're harboring a potentially dangerous demon. Stand back or we will arrest you." The man sounded nothing short of determined. He tried to move past Sher, but Sher didn't budge.

"Wait just a minute," he said, "A 'potentially dangerous demon'?"

"That's right."

"What the hell would we be doing helping a demon? In case you haven't noticed, demons are out _enemies_, and our job is to _kill them_." His tone bordered on outraged, with a good deal of scorn thrown in for good measure. Aline hid a smile as the man tried to argue his point before an unrelenting Sher.

"I know that, but-"

"Well good. Now that we've established that, can you tell me a reason- any reason at all- that would give me incentive to actually _help_ one of those things?"

Aline looked around discreetly. Nelo should be circling around, but she couldn't see him yet- the hangar was full of crates stacked up against the walls. Meanwhile, the Seeker seemed unwilling to give up.

"We've received information for a reliable source-"

"Like what," Sher snorted, "Your lucky eight ball?"

Aline couldn't help but chuckle at that, but the Seeker was less than amused. His face hardened.

"Stand back, the both of you- or we _will_ arrest you." His voice quivered with barely contained anger. Sher became serious as well.

"No," he stated simply. "There is no demon on this plane."

"Stand back."

"I said _no_."

"Then I'll bloody well force you to!" The Seeker drew his pistol in one fluid motion, and fired. He didn't even need to aim- it was point-blank range. There was no way he could miss.

* * *

**(1)** I admit, I can't remember how much time, exactly, passes between DMC3 and the original DMC. If any of you know for sure, feel free to tell me (in a review)!

**A/N: **So, the longest chapter to date! 13 pages in WordPerfect- it kinda snowballed once I started writing, but I didn't want to just post half. "

-Today's cameo (Mr. Vincent there) is dedicated to _angelus-2040_, who requested it in a review.

-Surprisingly, _ComVlad_ was the only person who got the book right- it was The Divine Comedy, brownie points to you!

-Last chapter's cameo was indeed Zack from FFVII, as some of you guessed. D

'Till next!


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